Manu Chao

Manu Chao helped begin the Latin alternative movement way back in the 1980s — before it had a name — and in his later work he’s cut a cross-cultural swath across styles and geographic boundaries. First rising to fame with the group Mano Negra, who blended world music with punk, Chao broke out as a solo star with 1998′s Clandestino, where he matched energetic and likable music with playful but subversive lyrics. An explosive live performer, Chao documented his savvy on stage with 2002′s Radio Bemba Sound System and 2009′s Baïonarena, and after a seventeen-year studio sabbatical, he revealed his mix of hot rhythms and rabble-rousing lyrics was still effective on 2024′s Viva Tu. Manu Chao was born on June 21, 1961, in Paris to Spanish parents — his father, the respected writer Ramon Chao, came from Galicia, while his mother hailed from Bilbao. Growing up bilingual, Chao was also influenced by the punk scene across the English Channel that exploded while he was still in his teens. As a teen he played in bands, including a rockabilly outfit called Les Hot Pants, which won local critical praise but never went anywhere before breaking up. After that, Chao and his cousin began Mano Negra, named for an anarchist organization that operated in Spain. They recorded their first single, “Mala Vida,” for a small label, but its French success led them to a contract with Virgin, something many early fans decried as selling out. Multilingual and decidedly multicultural, with an edge heavily influenced by the punk rock of the Clash, Mano Negra seemed comfortably at home in their music anywhere, whether they were in North Africa or North America. However, operating as a collective, without a manager, wasn’t the best way to guarantee international success, and their attempts to break the U.S. at the start of the ’90s didn’t work; America simply wasn’t ready for their eclectic attack. However, Europe loved them, as did South America. In 1992 they began an unusual tour of Latin America, traveling by boat with actors and a circus and playing in port cities on both the Atlantic and Pacific sides. They were aided and abetted on the tour by various political guerilla groups, which sometimes didn’t sit well with local politicians and lawmakers. In 1995, Chao moved the band to Spain, where he also formed another outfit, Radio Bemba Sound System, employing both musicians from Mano Negra and outside. It was said this caused rifts within the ranks, leading to the split of Mano Negra. Chao then returned to South and Central America, spending the next few years drifting around with his guitar and a four-track, recording as he pleased. The resultant collection of songs, Clandestino, was released in Europe in 1998 (1999 in the U.S.) and included a reworking of the Mano Negra track “King of Bongo,” which was picked up for use on the soundtrack to Madonna’s 2000 film The Next Big Thing. The album itself took off very slowly, but after a year was going stronger than ever, a sleeper hit that found its niche in the burgeoning Latin alternative scene, even though its lyrics freely mixed English and French along with the Spanish. In 2000 Chao played a rare pair of shows in Los Angeles, and in June 2001 released Proxima Estacion: Esperanza, which showed he’d spent the last couple of years soaking up the sounds of the Caribbean. This was further explored on Radio Bemba Sound System, a live recording done in 2002 that was taken from the tour following Proxima Estacion: Esperanza. In 2004 Chao released his first French-only album, Sibérie M'était Contéee, a cycle of songs about Paris, and in 2007 he brought out Radiolina, the artist’s first studio album in six years. It was followed in 2009 by the release of another live album, Baionarena, and by further heavy worldwide touring. By this time, Chao was making occasional appearances in the United States, including high-profile festival appearances at Chicago’s Lollapalooza in 2006, the Austin City Limits Festival in 2008, and San Francisco’s Outside Lands in 2008. Chao remained a popular live attraction and contributed to albums by Tonino Carotone, Smod, and others, yet refrained from recording his own new material for 17 years. The dry spell ended with 2024′s Viva Tu, which confirmed his bold style had changed little with the passage of time. ~ Chris Nickson & Mark Deming